Top 10 highest rated players revealed in NBA 2K22

2K Sports just revealed their player ratings for NBA 2K22 and the basketball world has gone into a spiral. As we don't have any NBA action for another two months or so, fans and the players themselves are reacting to these ratings and stirring up debates online. LeBron James responded 'SLAM Gaming' on Twitter when Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant's ratings were revealed and suggested that they should be 99.

.@KingJames thinks Steph and KD should be a 99 👀What should the 👑 be? #2KRatings https://t.co/qwZSwBovxl

— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) August 18, 2021

Moreover, Trae Young commented on his 89-rated player on NBA 2K22 as well saying that 2K Sports is yet to get his rating right.

😂😂😂 feel like we do this every year… y’all ever gonna get it right?!🤔😂 #CantPlayItYet 💆🏽💯 😂😂😂 https://t.co/kXbQZ4V8dq

— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) August 18, 2021

Who are the best players in NBA 2K22?

As we can see, a lot of buzz is around these new ratings. LeBron James and Stephen Curry were the two highest rated players last season (2K21) but this year 2K Sports started nobody at that rating. Moreover, Damian Lillard was left off the top three-point shooters list while Jayson Tatum was upset over his 90 rating, suggesting the base should have been at least 92.

🍀@jaytatum0 reacts to his 2K22 RatingStay tuned for more #2KRatings coming soonPre-order 2K22 ➡️ https://t.co/vvOEdFGQaU pic.twitter.com/NXS88CQxln

— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) August 18, 2021

With everyone hyped about these new ratings, let's take a look at the top 10 highest rated players in NBA 2K22.

#10 Damian Lillard - 94

Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers in NBA 2K21 [Source: Operation Sports]

Damian Lillard is the 10th-highest rated player in NBA 2K22 with a rating of 94. His rating in NBA 2K21 was 94 as well and he is one of the few players whose ratings are the same from last year. He was famously left off the 2K22's top 5 three-point shooters list which got fans angry at the game.

However, Lillard's rating is certainly bound to increase in the upcoming season as it always does. He dropped 55 points along with 12 threes in an NBA playoff game and his rating skyrocketed for a brief few weeks.

Cover Star had the sliders up, takeover activated, & put up 2K numbers 🤯Well fought @Dame_Lillard. pic.twitter.com/diBSIiThvx

— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) June 2, 2021

Damian Lillard was the cover athlete for NBA 2K21. He has 64-rated inside scoring, 91-rated outside scoring, 88-rated athleticism, 89-rated playmaking, 43-rated rebounding and 57-rated defense. He has a total of 44 badges in the game with 32 gold, 8 silver, 2 bronze and 2 Hall of Fame badges.

#9 James Harden - 94

James Harden with the Houston Rockets in NBA 2K20 [Source: NBA 2KW]

James Harden's rating has fallen from 95 in 2K21 to 94 in 2K22 which is understandable considering he spent most of last season injured and returned in the playoffs as a shell of himself. It is entirely possible that his rating will improve next season and it most likely will. Harden was the cover athlete for an alternative version of NBA 2K16.

James Harden has 79-rated inside scoring, 91-rated outside scoring, 90-rated athleticism, 91-rated playmaking, 58-rated rebounding and 65-rated defense. He has a total of 43 badges with 32 gold, 2 bronze, 4 silver and 5 Hall of Fame badges.

#8 Luka Doncic - 94

Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks in NBA 2K20 [Source: VGR]

Luka Doncic is the cover athlete for NBA 2K22 and is one of the youngest players to get on the cover. As a cover athlete, his rating was expected to be at least 95 but this year 2K Sports reduced almost everyone's ratings which, as you can see, led to the players complaining.

However, Doncic continues to improve and we can expect his rating to go up without a doubt. He was rated 79 in his rookie year (2K19), then 87 in his sophomore year (2K20) and shot up to 94 last year (2K21). The rate at which Doncic is climbing, we can expect him to touch the coveted 97 or 98 mark in a year or two.

Luka Magic 🔮 Introducing our #NBA2K22 Cover Athlete @luka7doncic Pre-order now ➡️ https://t.co/vvOEdFGQaU pic.twitter.com/EhgfUTnodn

— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) July 14, 2021

Luka Doncic is rated 94 overall in NBA 2K21 with 79-rated inside scoring, 63-rated defense, 59-rated rebounding, 90-rated playmaking, 84-rated athleticism, and 91-rated outside scoring. He has a total of 45 badges in the game with a whopping 37 gold badges along with 4 silver and 4 bronze. Don't be surprised if he picks up a Hall of Fame this year.

#7 Joel Embiid - 95

Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers In NBA 2K20 [Source: NBA 2KW]

Joel Embiid is the first player to crack the 95 mark and he was rated 95 last season as well. He was the runner up in the 2021 NBA MVP race after averaging 28.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game while leading the Philadelphia 76ers to the best record in the Eastern Conference. The Cameroonian is unquestionably one of the best centers in the game today and if you want a dominant big man like Shaquille O'Neal on your Current Team squad, pick the Philadelphia 76ers.

Joel Embiid is one of the few players whose inside and outside scoring have the same rating at 91. Moreover, he has 79-rated athleticism, 59-rated playmaking, 91-rated rebounding and 76-rated defense. He has a total of 38 badges in NBA 2K21 with 22 gold badges, 10 silver and 6 bronze.

#6 Nikola Jokic - 95

Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets in NBA 2K21 [Source: VGR]

The reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic actually saw a decline in his ratings like so many did. He was a 96 rated player in NBA 2K21 but is starting this game with a 95 rating. However, given his current form and MVP-caliber exploits it is a safe bet to say that his ratings are going to increase.

El MVP Jokić tiene una media de 95 🃏¿Estáis de acuerdo? #2KRatings pic.twitter.com/Q3OVr2RtiJ

— NBA 2K España (@NBA2KEspana) August 18, 2021

The Serbian big man is one of the best centers in the league today and is arguably one of the most unique ones. Standing at 6'11' and playing the 5 position, he creates plays for his entire team. He averaged 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game en route to winning the 2021 NBA MVP. He has 83-rated playmaking in NBA 2K21.

Nikola Jokic has 92-rated inside scoring, 94-rated outside scoring, 79-rated athleticism, 83-rated playmaking, 88-rated rebounding and 68-rated defense. As you can see, he is 90+ in both the scoring attributes and is near 80 in three of the six attributes. He has a total of 42 badges with 33 gold, 8 silver, 0 bronze and 1 Hall of Fame badge.

#5 Kawhi Leonard - 95

Kawhi Leonard with the Toronto Raptors in NBA 2K19 [Source: @Steve_OS (Twitter)]

Kawhi Leonard also saw a decline in his rating from 96 in NBA 2K21 to 95 in 2K22. He is also the third-highest small forward in the game behind LeBron James and Kevin Durant. However, he suffered an ACL tear and is likely going to miss all of next season which is why we can expect his rating to fall. The best-case scenario would be that he misses the regular season and comes back in time for the NBA playoffs so his rating will certainly fluctuate.

Kawhi Leonard is expected to miss much of next season, possibly all of it. But if he can return healthy after surgery to repair a partially torn ACL, he would represent a missing piece capable of returning the Clippers back to contender status.https://t.co/PVvVDdlRty

— L.A. Times Sports (@latimessports) August 13, 2021

Kawhi Leonard has 79-rated inside scoring, 92-rated outside scoring, 84-rated athleticism, 80-rated playmaking, 57-rated rebounding and 88-rated defense. He also has a total of 48 badges with 24 gold, 11 silver, 12 bronze and 1 Hall of Fame badge.

#4 Stephen Curry - 96

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors in NBA 2K20 [Source: The Swing of Things]

Stephen Curry also suffered a decline in his ratings in NBA 2K22. From 97 last season he is down to 96 in 2K22. Many don't seem to agree with his rating, including LeBron James, who tweeted saying it should have been 99.

Nah should be 99! 🤷🏾‍♂️

— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 18, 2021

Stephen Curry is practically a cheat code in NBA 2K. His 99-rated A+ three-point shooting can be exploited with no limits. He won the 2021 NBA scoring title and dropped video game numbers in real life last season. The way he is playing right now, Curry's ratings are bound to increase in this game.

Curry has 59-rated inside scoring, 97-rated outside scoring, 83-rated athleticism, 91-rated playmaking, 49-rated rebounding and 63-rated defense. He has a total of 45 badges in the game with 33 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze and 3 Hall of Fame badges.

#3 Giannis Antetokounmpo - 96

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks in NBA 2K20 [Source: NBA 2KW]

The 2021 Finals MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo is also the highest rated player in the game with a 96 rating in NBA 2K22. He led the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA championship after 50 years and has been an MVP level player for past three seasons. He dropped 50 points in the closeout Game 6 while amazingly converting 17 of his 19 free throws. He has 68-rated free throw shooting in the NBA 2K. As he has improved on the court every year, his ratings have reflected the same. Antetokounmpo went from 60 in his rookie season to 97 last year.

Giannis #2KRatings 2K14: 602K15: 742K16: 812K17: 832K18: 912K19: 942K20: 962K21: 97 pic.twitter.com/RDYd217jdD

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 22, 2020

Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the most all-round players in the game with five of the six attributes above 83. Only his rebounding is 71 rated which many have complained is highly innacurate (defensive rebounding at 90 and offensive at 52). As expected, he has 91 rated athleticism, 86 rated defense and 88 rated inside scoring but surprisingly he has 83 rated outside scoring as well. Finally, Antetokounmpo is rated 84 in playmaking.

He has a total of 56 badges as of NBA 2K21 with 20 gold, 25 silver, 9 bronze and 2 Hall of Fame badges.

#2 Kevin Durant - 96

Kevin Durant with the Brooklyn Nets in NBA 2K20 [Source: Athletes Creative Trap]

Kevin Durant is inarguably one of the best players in the game today and many would easily pick him to be the best. He starts off NBA 2K22 with a 96 rating, the highest in the game so far and is expected to improve on that as well. He started NBA 2K21 with a 95 rating but it increased to 96 after he went beast-mode in the NBA playoffs. However, just like LeBron James believes Durant's rating should be 99, KD thinks that himself.

.@KDTrey5 thinks his 2K22 rating should be a 99 👀 Thoughts? #2KRatings pic.twitter.com/n5Pm3XzdVy

— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) August 17, 2021

Kevin Durant has 85-rated inside scoring, 95-rated outside scoring, 81-rated athleticism, 82-rated playmaking, 71-rated rebounding and 74-rated defense. He has a total of 43 badges with 21 gold, 6 silver and 16 bronze badges and shockingly no Hall of Fame badges.

#1 LeBron James - 96

LeBron James with the LA Lakers in NBA 2K20 [Source: visualurl.com]

Arguably the best player in the game today, LeBron James is unsurprisingly on top of the NBA 2K22 ratings. He is rated 96 which many would point out is extremely low for him considering he touched the 98 mark last season itself. However, he can easily increase that rating to 98 or even 99 next season.

No attribute in James is rated less than 50 (except steals at 46) and remarkably 30 out of 39 attributes are rated above 80. In the 6 main attributes, he is above 77 in five of the six. In fact he is so good in NBA 2K that Kevin Durant admitted on 'The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon' that he plays as LeBron James.

James has 85-rated outside scoring and 89-rated inside scoring, with attributes like Offensive Efficiency, Layup and Shot IQ all rated at 98. LeBron James has 91 rated athleticism with 99 rated Stamina and 97 rated Overall Durability. As expected, he has 89 rated playmaking with no attribute less than 87. Moreover, he has 77 rated and 67-rated rebounding (84 defensive and 50 offensive).

LeBron James has a whopping 61 total badges as of NBA 2K21 with 28 gold, 15 silver, 14 bronze and 4 Hall of Fame badges.

There's a four-way tie for first in the 2K ratings 👀Agree? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/WL0hG0Mrpw

— ESPN (@espn) August 18, 2021